Princess to Pirate
by kamilog
Summary: She was a princess but hated everything about it. She then found 'IT' and her life went from royalty to piracy in one day. Pair. TenNeji. Pirates.
1. Chapter 1

This chapter was beta-reader, **-Kristine X3-**. My friend Adam also helped me alot with this story. I LOVE YA ADAM:P

**Chapter 1**

Hello my name is Tenten. I'm 16 years old and a princess of the West Kingdom. I have an older sister named Sakura, who is to set marry the prince of the Northern Kingdom, Sasuke. Then, the West and North Kingdoms will then be merged after years of fighting.

I have never liked being a princess. I hate the dresses, and having to being proper all the time. I wish I could just be free, like a pirate.

I am the opposite of my sister. She loves wearing pretty dresses, having tea parties with her friends and flirting with all the boys. Me? I like to get dirty and play in the mud. Most of my friends are also boys. She is the pretty one, with her long, shiny pink hair and vibrant green eyes. I have brown hair and brown eyes. She takes after our mother. I take after our father. She's always been the family's favorite. Sakura is the one that my parents would introduce at parties as their child, while I would be in the kitchen with one of my friends eating the food. She would always wear the prettiest, most fancy dresses; I stick with baggy boys cloths. I also keep my hair up under a hat, so people think I'm a boy. But just because my sister and I are different, we are the best of friends.

Thus, my story begins…

It was a regular day in our island paradise. The sun was shinning, and my sister was having a tea party with her friends in her room. Mom and Dad were also around, attending to their daily duties. Suddenly, the earth shook under the force of an explosion.

"Tenten, I have to go before my mom gets back from the market. See you later!" A boy with blond hair and green eyes yelled to the girl as he ran back up the beach towards the village. The girl had her hair tied up under her hat, and was wearing boy's cloths. Her chest looked flat, but that was only because it was taped back. On first glance, most people would just think she was a regular village boy, out playing with the other kids. No one would have expected her of being royalty.

"Okay, see ya later!" Tenten shouted back as she placed another bomb underneath a particularly large boulder. She ran behind another boulder and seconds later… 'BOOM'! The earth shook again.

_He he, it's so much fun blowing things up _Tenten thought as she went to inspect the damage. As she approached the remains of rock shards, she noticed that, underneath where the boulder had been, there was now a large, dark hole.

_Wow. This is weird. I never new the mountain tunnel system connected to here!_ Tenten thought as she went to inspect further. She crouched down, swung her legs into the hole, and dropped down. Light filtering down from above lit up the tunnel, and after walking no more than ten meters, she found several large crates pushed up against the left wall.

_Now what could these be here for?_ Tenten thought as she grabbed a nearby rock, and proceeded to bash a box open. _Crack, crack, crack_ went the rock, as it pounded the wood over and over again. Finally, the rock broke a hole in the box, and Tenten was surprised to see bars of gold sparkling in the light.

"Holy hell, that's a lot of gold!" Tenten said to herself as she eyed the bars. She then ran to another one, and after bashing this one open as well, saw rows upon rows of dynamite. "Man, this has got to be heaven!" She looked at all the other boxes, but strangely her eye was drawn to one box and one alone. Among all the larger boxes, there lay a small one. It was rectangular in shape, and was made of polished wood. On the lid there was a golden outline of a tiger. It felt as if something was pulling her towards it. She then had a sudden urge to know what was inside. Curiosity got the better of her. She slowly picked it up, as if it would shatter at the smallest touch. She started to trace the design with the tip of her finger, stopped, and slowly lifted the lid. Inside was medallion. It was a silver dragon, wrapping itself around a jewel placed in the center. It was the prettiest colour Tenten had ever laid eyes on. It was a clear jewel, like a diamond, and the way it caught and refracted the light made it even more mesmerizing. She slowly rolled it over in her hands, and saw something written on the back. It was in a different language, so she couldn't read it. Suddenly, the jewel started to glow, but it faded away just as quickly as it came.

"Wow." was all she could say in a hushed voice. Suddenly, she heard the booming of cannons off in the distance, and the answering explosions much, much closer. After a while, the cannons sounded again, closer this time. She anxiously waited for the next cannon to go off, but instead she heard the faint screaming of women. This broke whatever trance that had kept her from moving thus far, and she burst into action. She placed the medallion back in the box, then the box into her pants pocket, and ran back towards the entrance. After she pulled herself out of the hole, she looked around, and was shocked to see that a ship, bearing the flag of piracy, had pulled up and docked in the port. Pirates were streaming off the ship, overwhelming the wharf guard currently in place. As she watched the guards get overwhelmed, realization dawned on her. Her hand flew to her most prized possession, a beautifully hand crafted sword with an engraving of two dragons spiraling up the blade, and then ran as fast as she could back towards the town. She met many people while running through the streets, and helped some of the village kids find their mothers. She even helped some of the men fight back the pirates when she came upon these minor skirmishes. Only one thing drove her onward, and that was her concern for her sister. Her sister meant the world to her. She loved her parents, but she just couldn't live without her sister. Eventually, after fighting through 5 battles in the village, she ran up to and through the large gates that marked the entrance to the palace. She only had one destination in mind, and that was her sister's bedroom.

"Sakura!" Tenten yelled as she burst into her sister's room. Chair's had been thrown to the floor, and there, standing in the corner, stood a frightened Sakura, wielding one of those chair. She looked like she was going to try and hit the next person who walked in, but when she saw it was Tenten, a look of relief fell upon her delicate face.

"Sakura, don't worry I'm here. Don't worry, I have you; we're going to be alright," Tenten said in a loving voice as she helped Sakura put down the chair. Sakura was so scared and relieved at the same time, she fell to her knees. Tenten knelt beside her, and gave her a hug.

"Sakura, where is Mom and Dad?" Tenten asked in a soft, but stern, voice. Sakura just started to cry and said in a horse voice "I don't know, I don't know!"

Even though Tenten was the younger sister, she was always the stronger one, both mentally and physically. She had no time to break down.

Tenten comforted Sakura for a little while, till she heard a solider yelling, "Their getting to the royal bedding area! Stop them!"

"Oh shit! Sakura we have to move. Move Sakura!" Tenten yelled as she pulled Sakura up from her spot on the floor. They ran to Sakura's personal bathroom. The walls were covered in pink tiles, and a small window looked out upon the calm ocean. There was also a full body mirror against the wall and a large shower in the corner.

"Sakura, you stay here and let no one, and I mean no one, into this bathroom unless you are 100 sure that it's safe! Okay?" Tenten said to Sakura. Sakura just stared at Tenten with weary eyes. "Okay?" Tenten said again, but more sternly. Sakura seemed to snap out of her trance, and still scared, she just nodded.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sakura gasped out as she grabbed Tenten's sleeve. She looked up at Tenten with pleading eyes. They were red and a bit swollen from crying.

"I'm going to see if I can find Mom and Dad. I have to make sure they're safe. I'll come back to you, I promise" Tenten replied as she gently pulled Sakura's hand off her sleeve. She then walked out and shut the door behind her.

"Sakura, have you locked the door?" Tenten asked from the other side of the bathroom.

"Ah huh," Sakura murmured after a small clicking sound came from the door.

"Okay, good, now remember what I said!" Tenten shouted as she ran back through the halls. She met up with a few pirates, but nothing she couldn't handle.

_The safest place on the island is the tunnel system through the mountains_ Tenten thought as she raced to the passage that led to them. _That must be where Mom and Dad are_. Tenten started to take all the secret passages and unused corridors, just to avoid the various groups of pirates roaming the halls.

Eventually, she exited a corridor and out into the Palace Gardens. The bright sunlight made her stop for a minute, and when her eyes adjusted, she realized that she wasn't alone. There, standing in the center of the garden, were three burly pirates.

"Look what I found here, another boy trying to save his precious castle," a pirate with yellow/black teeth said with a crooked grin. He started to walk closer to Tenten. She could smell him from 3 meters away, and he smelt as if he hadn't taken a bath in months. It took all of Tenten's willpower not to gag. Instead, to cover it up she smirked. _What idiots_ she thought _are they really going to try picking a fight with me?_

"Either move, or I will kill you," Tenten said in a low voice. She gripped the handle of her sword, getting ready to draw it at a moments notice.

"That's pretty risky, considering there's only one of you, and we're all advanced swordsman." he replied, smirking, sparing the rest of the pirates to start laughing.

"Okay then I guess I have no choice," Tenten said with a sigh. Then, without hesitation, Tenten drew her sword and adopted her favored fighting stance.

Tenten had been practicing with a sword ever since she could pick one up. Her parents had supplied the teachers, but she was so fast at learning, within weeks she would be able to beat any of them. They had finally found one good enough that Tenten couldn't beat, and he had taught her for ten years. Then, one day, he just got up and disappeared.

Within one minute she had beat all the pirates, and not one bead of sweat covered her brow. Unbeknownst to her, someone had been watching her fight. Tenten, after cleaning her blade with the tunic of a dead pirate, continued on towards the caves where she believed her parents went. After searching the caves for about an hour, Tenten saw a glimmer of light coming from around the next corner, and after rounding it, she saw them.

"Mom, Dad, you're okay!" Tenten exclaimed as she hugged them. She saw four of their honor guard behind them, swords and shields raised, ready for anything.

"Where's Sakura? Is she okay?" Her mother asked in a stuttering voice. She tried to look and see if Sakura was behind her.

"Yes, she's fine. I'm going back to her now. Please, be safe." Tenten said as she hurried towards the tunnel entrance to the beach. Chances were that the pirates had entered the caves, so going back that way would just take her into danger.

_The shortest way back to the palace is through that tunnel that I found earlier today_ Tenten thought to herself as she raced through the caves. As she approached the corner that she thought would lead her to the exit, she suddenly heard someone yelling and the smashing of boxes, as if someone were throwing them away in frustration.

"Where the hell is it? I left it here in this very cave! Someone must have stolen it!" Tenten glanced around the corner, and saw a guy with long black hair searching among the boxes. She then felt the medallion start to call to her again. Without thinking, Tenten brought it out and took it out of the box. The clear jewel started to glow, and was so bright Tenten had to turn her head away. The guy suddenly turned around, alerted by the light, and glared at her. She looked in his eyes, and was shocked to see they were pure white.

Tenten started to panic, and she turned and attempted to run back down the tunnel. He then yelled after her in a monotone voice. "You, stop and comeback here. You have something that belongs to me! If you keep running, I will destroy this whole place to find you. I will even kill that pretty pink haired princess."

This got Tenten to stop. She may be a good fighter and all, but if he went after her sister, she would never forgive herself. She slowly turned to face him. She slowly put the medallion in her pocket. He looked even better in the light. He wore a white shirt that was open enough at the top so you could see the top of his well formed muscles.

"Is this what you want?" Tenten yelled back as she held the box out in front of her. The guy's eyes widened a bit, but no normal person could tell the difference. Tenten only noticed a hint of it, but brushed it off as nothing.

"Give it here!" The guy said in an angered voice, and held out his hand, expecting her to obey his command without objection.

"No. I challenge you! If you win, I'll give you the medallion, but if I win, I keep it, and you and your pirates have to leave this island and never come back." Tenten said while walking towards the boy. He looked about her age, which is what gave her the courage to challenge him. _What is he doing with a group of pirates?_ She thought as she laid the box on the ground next to her. Unsheathing her sword, she once again assumed her favorite fighting stance.

"Do you even know who you are challenging? I am the captain of the legendary ship 'Hyuuga' I am also the nephew of the legendary pirate Hiashi. I have never lost a sword fight even against my uncle." He said with a smirk. Oh how Tenten wanted to wipe the floors with that smirk. But Hiashi was the most feared pirate expectably for the West Kingdom. He then sighed shrugged his shoulders and drew out his sword too.

He drew his sword as well, and they started to fight. The pair battled back and forth up and down the tunnel, neither tiring nor slowing down. They both appeared to be evenly matched. They both locked blades, and after a brief power struggle, they both threw each others swords out of their hands. As Tenten scrambled to retrieve her sword, she suddenly felt a cold, hard pressure on the back of her neck.

He had drawn his gun.

"But that's cheating!" she hissed at him, "You can't do that!" Her sword lay but a meter away. She could make a break for it, but he would decorate the wall with her brains without a second thought if she so much as twitched.

"That's the way of the pirate," He whispered in her ear. She shivered as his warm breath hit her ear. He walked towards the box, picked it up, put it in his pocket and then headed over to her sword, with the gun pointing at her the entire time. He picked it up he, then inspected it; he seemed pleased after reviewing it.

"I'll take this if you don't mind. I like it. Very well made; way to good for a village child like you, could be worth a lot. " He said smirking, and then walked off towards the tunnel exit. Tenten stood there, watching her favorite sword get carried away by that jack ass! After he pulled himself out onto the beach, and the gun barrel had disappeared, Tenten ran after him. No way was she going to let him get away with her sword!


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter was edited by **–Kristine X3-.**

**Chapter 2**

As Tenten pulled herself out of the hole, she saw that he had already run the distance to the now pirate held docks and boarded the ship. She ran after him, and, not wanting to be seen, waded out into the water and started to swim towards the side of the ship. As she swam around the ship looking for a way up, she found the anchor chain which sparked an idea. She swam over, and after making sure the chain wasn't too slippery to hold, started to pull her up. Eventually, the chain became too steep to climb, she decided that the only way in was through a nearby porthole. She found that, after squeezing through, that she was in the storage area underneath the main deck. As Tenten walked towards the steps leading up the deck, she caught a glimpse of dark hair through the hatch. She hurried the rest of the way, and upon reaching the deck, found that it was covered in crates, some open revealing food, others shut and keeping their secrets. There came the sound of a slamming door from behind her, and she turned around to see a door leading off into another part of the ship. She walked towards it, and as her hand gripped the cold metal handle she heard the creaking and banging of boots on wood, which could only mean one thing. The pirates were returning. She threw open the door and ducked inside, slamming it closed behind her.

_Oh crap! I really need to get my sword and get off this ship_ Tenten thought as she rested against the closed wooden door, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. _Jeez, you'd think for pirates they'd steal at least enough candles to light up a hallway._ After blinking a few more times, her sight returned and she saw before her a long corridor with doors on either side. _This could take a little longer than I thought. Better get started._

Tenten checked behind all the doors, but she only found empty rooms. She was about to open the second last door in the corridor, when suddenly it opened from within, right into her face, and she was thrown back…right into the arms of a pirate.

_Oh crap! I hope they just think I'm just another pirate_ Tenten thought as she slowly raised her eyes. She saw his chest; it looked really fit; then higher to the chin, and then to the……eyes. White! God damn shit they were white!

_I am so busted!_ Tenten thought as she pushed herself up and away from him.

"I'm here for my sword. Give it back!" Tenten said to him. He just stared at her.

"Boy, you really do have guts. Either that or you're stupid. Walking onto a pirate ship, full of pirates no less, all to get back a stupid old sword. I'll give you your sword back, but it's all pointless for you anyway," he said with a smirk.

"W-w-why is t-that?" Tenten asked with as much confidence she could muster. She was starting to have a bad feeling about this whole thing. She needed to get her sword and get off now!

"All my men are all back on the ship, and since we've found what we came for, there's no reason to stay," he replied with an even bigger smirk. At that moment, the ship lurched forwards.

"Now, you have 3 choices. One: me killing you. Two: you getting killed trying to get off this ship, or three: become a pirate. We need another hand around here anyways, and you are good with a sword. Imagine all the riches and women you'll get if you stick with us," he said with a grin while walking around Tenten. Tenten wasn't lesbian, and her family was really rich, but getting killed was something she didn't want, but if she stayed with them she wouldn't be a trouble to her family anymore. She could also make sure that this ship never went back to their kingdom.

_At least he still thinks I'm a guy_ Tenten thought, _Now what should I do? I could become a pirate, but then he might figure out I am a girl, and I'll end up leave Sakura all by herself. I know! I'll try and get a deal out of this. Ya, that'll work, right?_

Then, after mustering up all the courage she could find, she said "How about this. If I join your crew, you leave this village alone forever, and never come back. Also, I want a room to myself, no questions asked" The white eyed boy looked like he was thinking about it, and after awhile, he turned to her and nodded.

Tenten sighed in relief, but then the man with the white eyes walked up and put his face inches away from hers, and said.

"There's no way you can get a room by yourself, so instead you'll have to go with my cousin. You don't look like the perverted type, so I'll trust you for now. If you do anything to her, I will personally kill you where you stand. Do you hear me?!" he yelled. "Oh, and by the way, you have a real pretty face for a boy, you know that?" Tenten just turned a deep shade of red, and then took a step backwards. No, he couldn't find out. She was too young to be raped or killed.

Tenten slowly nodded. She shook her head to snap herself out of her blushing and said "Hey, I look like my mother, that's all. It's not my fault! What about you huh? You look even more like a girl with your long hair," Tenten said the last part with a triumphant smirk.

"Good. Report to the deck now! And you will call me Captain Neji from now on," he said with a booming voice, acting like he didn't even hear her last insult. Tenten turned and ran up to the deck, afraid for her life. Boy, could he be scary or what! When Tenten got onto the deck, all the pirates stared at her like she was some sort of foreign object. One or two even looked at her like she was a piece of meat, ready to be hung over the fire. Tenten just glared at them and took her place beside a boy whose hair looked like a pineapple. Tenten barely held back a giggle.

"Yo, you're new here aren't you?" the guy with the pineapple head said, "My names Shikamaru, but people round here just call me Shika. I'm one of the first mates."

"Ya, I'm new. My name's Tenten" Tenten said. _I'm sure glad that my parents gave me a name that both girls and guys use_

"What's your skill?" he asked, "Most people on this ship have a talent in one thing or another, be it fighting to rigging to cooking. Mine is mostly strategizing."

"Well, I am a sword fighter and a damn good one at that," Tenten answered. The door she had ran out of suddenly slammed open, and out came Neji in his captain uniform. His hair was back in a low pony tail, and his captain hat was on. Tenten convinced herself he only looked okay. She wouldn't admit that he looked sexy.

"We have a new pirate among us," he shouted, "He's a specialist in sword fighting, so don't cross his path. He is bunking, as much as I hate it, with my cousin." At this some of the pirates gasped. Neji had never let anyone near his cousin, let alone bunk in the same cabin as her. "Now back to work. We have 2 days till we reach Gilgy Island."

At this the pirates started to cheer.

"What's on Gilgy Island?" Tenten whispered to Shika.

"You don't know? It's a fantasy island for men. It's filled with girls, alcohol, and no rules." Shika said in a bored voice. He sat down on a box not to far away and started to look up at the clouds.

Good thing to, or else he would have noticed that Tenten had started sweating uncontrollably_. Oh god, not good_.

"Crew A will be on duty till night fall, when Crew B will take over till Day break and Crew C in the morning," Neji said as he walked off, back towards the helm.

"Captain Neji, I need to talk to you!" Tenten yelled as she ran after him. She followed him into the captain's quarters. It was big and had a soft grey colour.

"Well?" Neji asked in a frustrated voice.

"Oh… well, I need my sword back first of all, if you want me to be ready for a fight," Tenten said, "And, also, what crew am I in?"

"Here's your sword," Neji said as he threw it to her. "You'll be in Crew C."

"Thanks," she replied as she slipped the sword back into its scabbard, "by the way, where is my room?"

Neji looked up from his papers with a suspicious glare. Tenten just started sweating, and shook her hands back and forth in an 'I mean no harm' sort of way.

"I just need to clean up and figure out where I am staying. Trust me; I don't want to cause any trouble."

"27," Neji said after giving her a You-Better-Or-I'll-Kill-You look.

Tenten was about to say thanks, but he looked like he was concentrating hard on his papers, so decided against it lest she get him even angrier. Tenten, after searching for 20 minutes, finally found the cabin marked "27". As she opened the door, a shrill squeak escaped from the room. Before she could figure out what it was, she looked up from her shoes to see a girl frantically trying to pull a shirt over her head. Her face turned a bright shade of red.

"Sorry," Tenten said hastily, and swung the door closed, blocking the girl from view. Tenten waited a few minutes, and finally heard a small voice whisper, "You can come in now." Tenten opened the door to see the girl standing by one of the bunks. She had short, dark purple hair, and white eyes, just like Neji's. She was blushing and twirling her fingers around, fiddling with her hair as she did so.

"I'm Tenten, and you must be Hinata," Tenten said in as much of a masculine voice as she could. To her it sounded pathetic. No way would this girl fall for it. The girl looked up, stared at her, and just nodded. She had a slight blush on her face, and the corners of her mouth were starting to rise into what appeared to be the beginnings of a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter was beta-read by **–Kristine X3-**.

Chapter 3

Tenten walked farther into the cabin and looked around. Up against the left side were two hammocks, one at waist height and the other one strung above it. The lower one was neatly made, while the top one had all the spare sheets neatly folded on top of it. There was also a small desk pushed into the corner. Tenten saw that a book had been left open. Hinata could read obviously, which was more than she could say for the other pirates. There was one closet like hole in the right wall and some clothes could be seen hanging inside. The walls were significantly more polished than the walls in the rest of the ship. Overall it was very well kept room.

As Tenten walked over to the hammocks, Hinata moved over to the desk and closed the book. "Am I in the top bunk?" Tenten asked.

"Yes," Hinata answered, standing over the desk and kept her eyes on the polished wood surface. The silence was killing Tenten, so she started to unfold the sheets on her hammock and set them up.

"So, you're Neji's cousin," Tenten said over her shoulder, "Tell me. Has he always been this cold?"

"Neji-nii-san is really nice once you get to know him," Hinata stuttered out as a reply looking at her fiddling fingers. She slowly lifted her head so looking at Tenten's back suddenly her face started to show hints of redness. She thought something was weird about this boy the way he walked and held himself was different then normal guys. Even though Hinata only saw Neji once since their stop at the West Kingdom, she could tell he was more jumpy than usual even if normal people couldn't tell.

"Ah well he always seems to act really coldly and like a brat, when ever I talk to or see him," Tenten said with a hint of anger. Tenten finished setting up her bunk and was going to jump into it when she felt something heavy sway in her pocket. Curiosity struck her as she slowly reached in and pulled out the medallion.

'Oh man I forgot I still have this,' Tenten thought to her self as she fingered it. Hinata now looked wide eyed at Tenten. 'That is Neji's medallion. How did he get it?'

Hinata now raced around so she was between Tenten and the bunks. She looked at it then looked at Tenten. Tenten looked at her then started to turn red. Hinata was so close to her. Did they not now anything about personal space?

Tenten went to take a step backwards when suddenly the boat took on a huge wave. The ship did a huge lurch forward. Tenten's leg was still in the air so she lost her balance and fell forward…right onto Hinata. Hinata being so small knew she wouldn't be able to hold the weight so she closed her eyes and crossed her hands over her face for as much protection as she could and braced her self for impact. Tenten hit Hinata and Hinata hit the bed. They ended up in a very weird position on the bed.

Ironically just as the bright red Tenten was starting to get up off the equally bright red and passed out Hinata the door opened. There stood a person with a face even redder then the two girls, but not with embarrassment but with anger.

**Another part of ship.**

Neji sat at his desk acting like he was working. He was actually thinking- about the new boy.

'Why did it glow? And for a boy? Why him?' Every question that he asked he got more and more frustrated which made him think even harder and from there a cycle formed. Fed up with his own questions Neji finally opened up his drawer to see the box. He quickly but gently took out the box and looked at the details for a while. He then noticed something. It was lighter then it was suppose to be. His eyes widened with anger and surprise that he didn't notice it sooner. He abruptly stood up knocking his chair over. He ran- or walked- through the ship towards his cousin's room. The crew looked at him with feared eyes. No one had ever seen the captain this mad since a pirate hit on Hinata.

Seeing the door, Neji forcefully kicked open the door only to stumble upon Tenten on top of Hinata. Rage blinded him as he tackled Tenten. The anger within his confused him. Was he furious because of his stolen medallion, or was it something more? Something likes protectiveness for his cousin. He thought so. At that moment, he didn't care what would happen to this new boy. All he knew was that he had crossed a very large line. Suddenly, the door slammed open. It was Shikamaru with the same bored look. He scanned the scene before him. Hinata was on the brink of tears helplessly trying to pry Neji from a frightened Tenten. 'They failed to notice the sounds of canons and the immense rocking of the ship…' Shikamaru thought.

"Captain you are needed immediately on deck. We have being attacked by the Hydra." Shikamaru said with a hint of worry. Suddenly the sounds of metal clashing and cannons firing hit Tenten's ears. The ship then gave another lurch. Neji got off of Tenten without blinking twice, he grabbed his sword which ended up on the floor near the door and ran out of the cabin forgetting about his anger for Tenten seconds before. Just before he left he turned and said to Hinata "You know where to go. Stay there until I come to get you. Do you remember the password?" Hinata just looked at him and gave a small nod. He turned and ran onto the deck.

Tenten following suit grabbed her sword off of the desk and ran after him. Shikamaru had already gone. She looked back at Hinata who only sat on the floor sniffing every so often rubbing her already red eyes. Tenten gave a last small smile before running on deck. Once she got on deck she was instantly attacked. Tenten fought well, she ended up wounded all the pirates that she fought. Some she forced off the side of the ship. She didn't kill any because she didn't like to kill. After pushing a big (butt ugly and smelly) pirate off the ship she turned to see Neji fighting two creepy looking pirates. One had long black hair and beady yellow eyes he reminded Tenten of a snake. The other pirate had grey haired with black eyes and wore glasses; Tenten knew he must be smarter then average pirates. Tenten could tell Neji was struggling so she ran across the deck to start fighting beside him.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked grunting a bit from the blows that the black haired pirate was giving him.

"I thought you would need some help" Tenten said back dodging a sword swing. Suddenly the grey haired pirate did a swift fake blow then headed towards Neji stomach. Neji was too concentrated in the quick hit from the yellow eyed ninja to the head. Thinking quickly Tenten pushed Neji out of the way so instead of him getting hit in the straight threw the stomach it gave a deep wound to Tenten's side. Tenten fell to her knees holding her side, she slowly moved away from Neji to make sure she wasn't any trouble to him. The creepy snake like man slithered towards her well his accomplice kept Neji busy. Neji kept looking at Tenten when ever he could with worried eyes, but the grey haired man kept him focused on his sword. He tried to get to her, but the grey haired pirate kept pushing him away.

The snake man caught up to Tenten. Tenten was covered in her own blood by this point. Her wound must have been worse then she thought she was losing a lot of blood and fast. He went around her so that he stood in front of her stopping her from moving forward anymore. When Tenten saw his shoes, fear filled her. She tried to stand, but he stepped on her back holding her down. She gave a small 'oomph' when she hit the deck. Her cut was even more in pain. Slowly he bent grabbing her bangs pulling her head over so his mouth was right next to her left ear.

"You know a girl should never be on a pirate ship in the first place. But you're cute so I'll let you live this time your highness." He hissed at her with a smirk. Tenten just held her wound stunned by his words.

'Your highness,' kept repeating over and over in her head. How did he know! Maybe he was bluffing. But even if he was she knew she was dead now, he would tell everyone and she would be taken home and all her effort would be ruined. As if reading her thoughts the pirate then hissed "Don't worry I won't tell any one but mind you we will be back to take you and use you to take over the west kingdom. Don't try to run because I will find you where ever you go." He said with a slither you could hear him laughing under his breath. You could feel the triumphant aura around the snake expand with every word he said to her. Tenten was shaking a bit; she wanted to go home to her sister. Tenten still was in the same place unmoving. She didn't even remember her wound as she started to get up again. The snake man kicked her square in the chest, and she fell on her back this time. She couldn't breath. She tried over and over to take a breath but couldn't. Tears started to fill her eyes. 'Breath,' she kept thinking to her self. The snake man and the other pirate walked back to there ship. The guy with glasses then yelled for their crew to retreat.

Once all the pirates from the Hydra were back on there ship sailing away Neji raced over to Tenten. He slowly picked her up bridal style noticing how light she was. He didn't know why he was doing this. He would normally care less for newcomers, but he felt differently about this one. As he raced to the healing quarters he kept questioning his own actions.

Tenten felt her self getting picked up into strong arms slowly she could feel her self going in and out of consciousness from the lack of blood and air. She tried to focus for one last time to see her carrier but all she heard was "Stay with me Tenten, come on, a man wouldn't be taken down this easily. You must really be a wimp" The voice said with a hint of a sarcastic tone. She smiled faintly then blacked out.

Once Neji felt Tenten go limp he ran faster. He didn't want her to die. Once he reached Hinata's medical room he placed Tenten gently on the table well Hinata quickly went to work on her. As she was undoing her shirt she paused then turned to her cousin.

"Nii-san….would you…please leave….you are making me nervous… and I…I can't work as w…well" Neji just nodded not knowing why he was still even in the room to begin with. He turned on his heel and left. As he walked back to his captain's quarters he looked at his blood on his clothes. _His_ blood to be exact, what made Neji act this way to him. Why did he save him? He didn't even know him. Neji kept pondering for a while, then decided he would investigate more about the pirates that attacked them. The captain said something to Tenten to make him act differently. He told one of the pirates to call Shikamaru into his quarters. After a few seconds he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in" Neji said in his monotone voice. Shikamaru walked in acting as though he hadn't just fought moments before.

"You asked for me?" Shikamaru said in a bored voice while leaning against the wall next to Neji.

"Yes, what do you know about the Hydra?" Neji asked with a hint of curiousness in his voice.

Back with Tenten

Tenten slowly opened her eyes. After looking at the ceiling she freaked out. This wasn't her room where was she. She sat up and looked around. She then saw Hinata all her memories of joining the crew and the snake man hit her like a rock to the head. She felt Hinata put her hand on her shoulders trying to push her back down. Tenten reluctantly laid back down when she felt the throbbing of her side. She looked down to see she was only in a wrap. She started to get scared. Did she see did she know she was actually a well she? Hinata just smiled happily and walked over to the desk beside the bed. On the desk was a bunch of herbs and books. Hinata poured some herbs in a liquid and walked back over to Tenten.

Handing her the mysterious liquid she said in a soft ton "drink this it will take the pain away". Tenten slowly took the grey liquid from her looking it over finding nothing suspicious about it she drank it. It tasted bitter. Tenten wanted to spit it out but reluctantly swallowed. Once she swallowed it all Hinata took the glass away and put it back on the table. She then pulled a chair up to Tenten.

"We need to talk. What is a girl doing on a ship, acting like a boy? Also how did you get this medallion?" Hinata asked in a soft but questioning voice, not stuttering once. Tenten sighed then decided she couldn't get out of this one so she told the whole story starting from were she was blowing up the rocks. She left out the part about being a princess just so even if her being a girl got out then they still wouldn't know bout her being a princess.

After she was finished explaining, Hinata looked at her with understanding eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter was beta-read by **–Kristine X3-.**

**Chapter 4**

One week has past since the attack. Tenten's wounds have healed thanks to Hinata's medicine. After Tenten told Hinata about her secret, she and Tenten have become closer. Hinata promised to keep it a secret since she's never had another girl on board. Tenten had become more comfortable with the rest of the crew. A few times she had been challenged to little spars with other shipmates, never once had she lost. After most of her spars, she had seen Neji's coat float back into his captain's quarters. Ever since the attack, Tenten hadn't seen much of Neji. She's seen him once or twice well eating but never anywhere else. It was almost like he was avoiding her. The next day they were scheduled to arrive at Gilgy Islands.

In the last week, Tenten had made good friends with Shikamaru, the first mate and the common cloud gazing genius, Kiba, look out and a dog lover, he always has a pet dog with him named Akamaru. Also Chouji, the chef and a good friend of Shikamaru; no one dares call him fat because if you do he would kill you. Then there was the very quiet Shino. Tenten didn't learn much about him other then he really likes bugs and no one has ever seen his face or eyes. Tenten really liked hanging with them. None of them were nosey and they all were really interesting. She had a hunch that Shino knew something but he doesn't talk and she couldn't read his face because it was always covered.

They finally arrived at Gilgy Island and Tenten was really excited to finally be off the ship. She made sure that the medallion was hidden safely on board the ship. Her brown eyes scanned the brightly lit town. It was a shantytown. Some two hundred houses and bars, roughly constructed of old looking wooden planks, crouching along the busy water front. It was all surrounded by lush and dark, evil looking forests. Tenten gave a shallow gulp when looking at them. When the town hit fishing time, it was the most popular town, full of people, pirates and seamen alike. At other times most of the houses lay empty except for at night when they were full of drunken pirates. You could tell it was dirty even if it was night; the lanterns were bright enough that it lit the town's bars and motels. Tenten made a mental note not to walk alone at night and then gave another shiver. It smelt of rum and gun smoke. Tenten scrunched her nose at first smell but after a few sniffs she generally got use to it. Tenten was about to turn around and walk back into the cabins, not wanting to travel into the dirty looking horrible excuse for a town, when suddenly a hand grabbed hers and she is pulled off into the busy town. After getting off the ship, she flipped around to see where she was running to. She turns to see Hinata running with a smile on her face. She noticed a lot of unconscious drunk people that smelt strongly of rum as she ran by. Some even tried to grab her pants she just jumped over them; she even stepped on some of their hands. Suddenly Hinata stopped and Tenten runs into her and falls on her butt. She looks up to see Hinata twiddling her fingers in front of an old dark ratty looking door with no sign above it. It had a sense of foreboding to it. Just looking at it Tenten knew something she wouldn't like was about to happen.

After a few moments, Hinata finally opened the door, and Tenten followed in quickly making sure the door closed softly behind her. When she turned around, all heads were looking at her. She slowly made her way up to Hinata. Hinata was sitting in one of the dark looking chairs at the table in the back right. Tenten would have never noticed her with out the motion of her fiddling with her fingers. Tenten sits down with her back to a hidden door. Suddenly, a blonde head pops out from around the corner and looked at Hinata. Tenten kept staring at Hinata and Hinata not making any motions the blond head smiles.

Suddenly a Swedish accented yell of "Hinata" was heard threw out the bar. Tenten nearly fell off her stool. Hinata jumped up from her seat looked towards the blue eyed man and turned a new shade of red. The boy then ran towards Hinata and gave her a hug. Hinata then fainted the boy just chuckled and put the dizzy Hinata in her chair. From what Tenten could tell was that the loud-mouthed boy was in really good shape. But he also had dirt smudges on his face. His eyes were a light blue that held a spark in them that she has never seen before and his unruly blonde hair just added to his handsome face. He turned to face Tenten and then smiled. He then ran up to her and gave her a hug. "You must be Hinata's boyfriend" he said with a huge smile. Tenten stared at him then turned slightly red. This boy must be crazy to run up to a stranger and say that.

"No, I'm just her-" Tenten then was cut off by the boy yelling.

"My name is Naruto and I work here and half own it. Hinata comes here often with her cousin. What's your name?" He said with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Well I'm Tenten but I'm not Hinata's-" again she was cut off, but this time it was from a loud girly voice it was just as loud as the boys but this one had a softer Swedish and a hint of Cuban accent.

"Naruto stop harassing the costumers." Tenten turned around to see a beautiful woman with long blond hair up in a high pony tail and equally blue eyes but she held a confident presence around her. With one look Tenten knew not to be on her bad side.

"Aw, but Ino I was just greeting Hinata's new boyfriend."

"But I'm-" Tenten tried to say again.

"Don't be shy I know she's a good catch," Naruto said giving a wink and nudge, he then gave a yelp as Ino hit him in the head.

"Be quiet Naruto and stop interrupting him, he is trying to tell us that he isn't Hinata's boyfriend," Ino said with in annoyed tone clenching and unclenching her fists, trying not to hit the blond again.

Hinata at this point had just woken up from her trance to stutter. "Yes Naruto-kun, he isn't my boyfriend." Tenten could tell by her stutter and blush that Hinata liked the boy. As Naruto was talked with Hinata, Ino turned to her.

"Can I talk to you a second…?"

"Tenten," Tenten said to complete her sentence.

"Ya Tenten…over here," Ino said waving for Tenten to go behind a curtain. Tenten walked behind the curtain to see it was a kitchen, a really dirty kitchen with 2 small candles lighting up the small room. Ino turned to face Tenten the darkness covering half her face. The smile on her face made her look even more mysterious. Tenten started to shift in her spot; Ino made her uncomfortable. She could feel her staring at her with her sapphire eyes looking her up and down. Tenten looked at her and after what seemed like forever Ino talked.

"You know a boy would never walk like that, or talk like that. You even talk properly; I've never seen that before. It's almost like your-a-girl" Ino said the last part with a smirk that scared Tenten.

"But I'm not a girl, as for the talking I was brought up with a family that thought highly of manners so I was forced to learn them," Tenten said with as much confidence as she could muster. Ino had a look of disbelief that quickly went away as fast as it came. Ino slowly started walking towards Tenten with a look Tenten had never seen before. It was like how his dad and mom looked at each other but harsher and more demanding.

With every step Ino took forward Tenten would take back. Suddenly Tenten's back hit a dirty wall with a cupboard hitting her right leg. Tenten's eyes widened Ino was closing in. Tenten turned to run for the curtain when a hand smashed against the wall in front of her face. Looking at the hand Tenten could tell that the person kept it in really good shape it looked soft and somewhat clean or at least cleaner then most things in this town.

Slowly Tenten looked up to face Ino. She was trapped like a rat. Ino then quickly took off Tenten's hat and unbuttoned her shirt.

'No I don't want to be raped especially by a girl' Tenten closed her eyes and tried to scrunch as far away from the hands on her shirt. Suddenly the hands stop and Tenten hears Ino take a step back. Tenten slowly opens her eyes to see Ino with a huge friendly smile on her face. Tenten looked back at her with a blank expression. She then noticed that Ino was looking at her chest. Tenten looks down to realize that her shirt was undone and her wraps were showing. She quickly grabs the sides of her dirty shirt and pulled it to cover the wraps. Ino's smile got even bigger.

"I knew it!" Ino said a bit too loudly Tenten ran over and covered her mouth before she yelled out anymore. She then slowly moved back to the curtain to see if anyone noticed. Outside she saw an unconscious Hinata in a panicking Naruto arms. Realizing no one noticed she gave a big sigh and looked back to the smiling Ino.

"I knew you were a girl since you walked in I just needed to make sure of it myself, you wouldn't admit it so I had to force you but now I know you are a girl. But, now I want to know why," Ino whispered loudly putting one of her nice clean hands on the dirty counter to lean on as she waited for Tenten to explain her story.

Tenten let out a long sigh then sat down on one of the many dirty chairs, she started with a short version of her very, very long story.

"To make the story short let's just say that I need to make everyone on the boat but me think I'm a boy so I don't die. Hinata is the only one on the boat that knows I am a girl. So please don't tell anyone, especially Neji," Tenten said pleading to Ino. Ino just nodded, knowing she would get the details out of Hinata later. Standing up Ino moved to the curtain then yelled out.

"Hinata, I need you for a second. Naruto go serve some people and remember not to scare them away." Tenten just looked at Ino with a confusion etched in her face.

'What is she planning?' Tenten wondered to her self. Hinata walked in looking a little flustered but smiling. Ino then whispered something to Hinata and got an evil look in her eyes. Hinata then looked at Tenten but quickly looked at the ground. She then started to fiddle with her fingers like she normally would start doing when she was ether ashamed, in trouble, about to do something either slightly mean or something someone won't like. With the look Ino was giving her she knew it was going to be bad.

"Sorry Tenten-chan," Hinata stuttered then everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter was beta-read by the amazing **–Kristine X3-**.

**Chapter 5**

"I hate this, I hate my life, I want-to-die," Tenten mumbled to herself as she walked down the day lit street with Hinata and Ino.

"Tenten-chan you look like a real princess," Hinata said with a smile on her face as she walked on Tenten's left side.

'Oh so little you know,' Tenten said with mental sigh.

Ino's evil plan was to go out on the town with Tenten dressed up in fancy girl clothes. They all got dressed up in good clothes; Ino wore a light blue long dress with a tight blue corset, Hinata wore a purple one and they forced Tenten into a blood red one. They then let Tenten's hair down. She looked really different once they washed her up a bit. Then they dragged her out on the street. By the time they got out the sun was starting to rise and things were starting to settle down and look cleaner.

Tenten sighed again as she remembered them dressing her in this hellish dress. She couldn't breath, this was why she never wore dresses; they were suffocating. Before they left, Tenten quickly switched her high shoes for her regular flat ones. They had been walking threw the streets looking at dresses and weapons which was mostly Tenten's idea. Then they sat down in one of the cleaner, nicer looking pubs and ordered some snacks and drinks. When the sun was high in the sky and Tenten, Ino and Hinata were going to start heading back to the Cavern to change back, they met some visitors.

"Hinata what are you doing here. I've been looking for you," Neji said in a concerned manner with Shikamaru and Chouji walking close behind. Shikamaru had a girl hanging off his left arm giggling but he didn't seem to care since he just was looking up at the sky. Chouji looked extremely happy with an arm full of food stuffing his face. Neji then looked over at Ino and Tenten. Tenten was trying to look calm and hide behind Ino so he wouldn't recognize her. He looked at Tenten for a while then started walking over to her.

"Do I know you?" he asked her.

Tenten panicking, quickly stuttered and say in a high voice "uh, no" She then tried to hide further behind Ino.

"What is your name I'm sure I've seen you before" He asked again trying to look at her face.

"She's my friend, works with me at my cavern." Ino said quickly to cover Tenten. Tenten quickly nodded thanking Ino over and over in her head.

"Ino, you never said you had another girl working with you," he said looking quickly at Ino then trying to again get a better look at Tenten.

"She's new so you wouldn't have heard of her before," Ino said blocking his view even more. Neji gave a small growl at Ino but stopped trying to look at Tenten. Tenten gave Ino's sleeve a small tug to signal that she wanted to go. Ino gave a brief nod. Tenten quickly jumped out in a bow position to cover her face and said in a soft voice.

"Nice meeting you, but I need to go." Then she started to run off back to the cavern. The roads were made of stone which she believes was made by a drunken man. The stones were placed every which way making it harder for her to run fast. Wearing a skirt and corset made it that much harder.

As she ran, she could here Neji starting to run after her but stopped by Ino. This made her run faster, but when she was finally out of his sight, her wound opened slightly and gave out excruciating pain. She stopped running and hid behind a corner, holding it and giving out grunts of pain and exhaustion. While holding her wound, she gave a quick glance at the deserted road. On the other side was the forest, even when it was day light, Tenten gave a small shiver. She slowly got up still holding the wound and started to walk as fast as she could towards the cavern again. Unknown to her a pair of eye were watching her angrily. She got to the cavern and quickly ran into the back were her old clothes were hanging. She quickly striped out of the dress making sure to put it neatly on the stool. She then grabbed her guy's clothes that they had earlier washed and hung to dry. They were a bit damp but not to bad. Then tied up her hair and put a bandana over it.

She then heard Naruto yelling, "Hey Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji long time no see! How's the Hyuuga; has that pile of junk sunk yet?" Naruto said with a laugh. Tenten quickly threw on her hat, sashes and swords then walked out casually.

"Wallo Bembem!" Chouji said with a mouth full of food. Tenten simply nodded and tried to calm down her fast beating heart. She swore that people could hear it from across the room. Suddenly Neji walked over to her, her heart started to speed up again. Suddenly he stopped in front of her towering over her making her feel smaller.

He then grabbed her by her arm and dragged her into the back room.

'Oh no, he found out. I'm going to go home or killed or left on this island,' Tenten thought panic stricken.

Once they were in the room Neji grabbed Tenten's shoulders and gave her a little shake.

"Did you see a girl with long brown hair and a red dress run through here?" he asked in a hasty voice, his eyes darting around as if looking for her in that very room.

Realizing he didn't find out about her she let out a sigh and smiled a bit to her self.

"Yes, but she ran in and yelled that she had to go home before her father beat her," Tenten said with another sigh of relief. After hearing that, Neji's expression seemed to get more depressed. He then walked out with out saying another word.

The rest of the time, Tenten sat back taking sips of really sour tasting rum that Naruto put in front of her. She listened and laughed a couple times at the conversations between Naruto and Hinata, Naruto doing most of the talking with Hinata simply blushing the entire time. She would stutter something sometimes but would just come out as mumbles. Then there was Ino who was hanging off of Shikamaru like a wet shirt. Tenten found most of the entertainment when Ino would try and flirt and Shikamaru shutting down any of her hopes with a 'troublesome women'. This made Ino huff, but then she would always try again. A few times, Tenten saw Shikamaru glance at Ino with a look other then that of annoyance Tenten figured it was either that of 'like' her or even 'love'. Tenten would look over at Neji every so often just to make sure he was still alive. He was so quite that he could act like the dead. He looked like he was spaced out. Suddenly he stood up and hit the table, being totally out of character. This made Hinata jump and fall out of her seat, Ino stood up suddenly with a scared and shocked look on her face. Chouji who was sitting quietly as one can stuffing his face with food, spit it all out. Tenten's eyes widened for a second but she didn't do anything. Shikamaru wasn't affected at all by the sudden out burst and Naruto was just smiling like nothing happened.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Ino I need to know where that girl lives or at least her name," Neji said in sort of a pleading tone, it was hard to tell though.

"As I told you before she's new I don't know anything about her. I just invited her to walk with us, so that we could get to know her when you came along and scared her off," Ino answered with an annoyed voice she had been answering with the same response for the last 10 questions. Tenten had to give her credit for quick thinking. That girl could definitely think on her toes when under pressure. While Tenten applauded Ino's wit, Neji scowled. Tenten could tell he was not happy when he sat down almost breaking chair with the force.

"Fine could you at least tell her to meet me in the town square tomorrow night? I want to talk with her." Neji almost pleaded. Ino gave a quick glance and smirk at Tenten then turned back to Neji. Tenten tried to give her a scared glance that begged her to say no. Ino either ignored her or didn't catch glance, but she knew Ino saw.

"You mean for the masquerade ball? Sure, Don't worry I promise she'll be there." Ino said with a big smile. Tenten instantly sent her a deadly glare. The masquerade ball was another excuse for people to dress up, drink and have sex. Her parents had really formal ones. Sakura had all the guys around her while Tenten just hid in her room or exploring the caverns.

Neji never said anything the rest of the night. He sat in a convinently darkened corner of the bar drinking pint after pint. When the sun was about to set, everyone went back to the boat except for Tenten and Hinata whom Ino asked to stay for the night. Everyone gave a raised eyebrow to why she would want Tenten to stay but being in a bad mood from questions already one look and they all ignored it and went to the sleeping quarters. Ino waved farewell to the guys and even gave Shikamaru a little wink in which he replied with rolling eyes, but Tenten could see him blushing. Tenten gave a little smile at the thought of Shikamaru getting a girlfriend, especially one as loud as Ino, but you know what they say, opposites attract.

The whole night Ino, Hinata and Tenten sat in Ino's room and talked- well mostly Ino talked while Hinata added a few words here and there Tenten stayed quiet and few times when Ino tried to get her to talk she would send her death glares. Ino would just smile back which pissed Tenten off to no end.-"Do you know who I want to marry?" Ino said with a smile. She didn't wait for Tenten or Hinata to reply when she said. "Prince Sasuke," Ino blush and let out a little giggle. Hinata just twiddled her fingers.

Tenten just rolled her eyes and subconsciously said. "He's to full of himself plus he knows he's good looking so he uses it to attract more girls. He is also promised to Sakura- Hime-sama of the West Kingdom," Tenten almost hit herself when Hinata and Ino looked at her like she just got hit by a runaway carriage.

"Did you know I heard that there was also a second princess to that kingdom? They say she ran away on a pirate ship traveling on the seas dress like a boy." Ino said in a mysterious voice. Tenten was shocked even her own village at times didn't know there was a second princess. Hinata and Ino looked at Tenten questioning when Ino said.

"Tenten don't you come from the West Kingdom?"

"Yes," Tenten answered with a stutter.

"Well from what I heard 'The Hyuuga' was the last ship to hit the royal village." Ino was now so close to Tenten that Tenten could see that Ino had specks of gold in her sky blue eyes near her pupils.



"Umm well…I don't know?" Tenten said truthfully, not really knowing how to answer that statement. Ino smiled and Hinata looked at Tenten with a less aggressive smile.

"I have the perfect dress for you for the masquerade. You'll feel like a real princess again," Ino said with a smile.

"I never have been a real princess. I have only been the invisible one," Tenten said in a soft voice. She felt Ino move away and give her a sad look.

"Don't worry, you should meet my sister. You two would be good friends. Heck, maybe when I go back, you could stay in the castle with me, you too Hinata," Tenten said with a smile knowing that she just admitted to being the second princess of the kingdom. These were her first true girlfriends and she felt happy being around them no matter how loud Ino was or quiet Hinata was. She always found herself laughing. They spent the rest of the night talking about boys and everything girly. Tenten didn't really care about feeling girly; she needed some female companions after being on a really bad smelling ship filled with guys.

Finally Ino and Hinata fell asleep on the small bed. She was so nervous about the upcoming day, she didn't sleep a wink. She lay on the couch trying to think of plans to get her out of any situations that could come up. One included running and jumping off a cliff but that was her last resort she decided.

**Suddenly Tenten got this feeling. It was like something was **_**calling **_**her. Tenten without thinking got up grabbed her sword and started walking where the feeling was leading her. When she finally realized where it was leading her, she started to lead herself wondering what was calling her. She was heading back to the Hyuuga. She silently crept on to the ship trying to avoid detection which wasn't hard with the night guards passed out on the deck. Tenten laughed at the snoring Kiba and Akamaru. She slowly again started following her feeling. She again found herself in the cabin. Under a section of the floorboard was glowing. She slowly pulled the floor board back to revel the medallion. She grabbed it and immediately it stopped glowing. Suddenly the door opened and Tenten turned her sword raised. Neji walked in with loose pants and no shirt. He too had his sword raised. He looked half asleep with a puzzled look on his face. Tenten then realized she was in a night gown. Would he think it was the girl on the street or Tenten his crew mate. He just looked at her then mumbled something under his breath. He then passed out on the floor. Tenten just looked in shock. He was walking and talking in his sleep. He must have been checking on Hinata in his sleep. Tenten did a quick sigh of relief and put the medallion in her gown pocket. She then put her sword and his sword in a make shift belt made of rope that she found in the room. She grabbed Neji's arm and through it over her shoulder. She then lifted him as much as she could off the ground. He was heavier then Tenten thought so she stumbled a bit to get him steadied. She then realized that he was too tall and that his knees would be dragging on the ground to. Tenten let out a sigh but started walking to the main cabin. **

**Tenten finally got him to the bedroom only dropping him twice. She was surprised for a captain he was a dead sleeper. She pushed him on the bed leaving his sword beside his bed. He mumbled again this time she made out a bit of it. **

"**No, I don't want to be king. No, I don't want to be in a cage." He almost cried out. But with a quick glance she quickly kissed him on the forehead. Tenten quickly stood up and turned a red that even Hinata would be jealous of. She always did that to her sister when she would have nightmares. It was a reaction that Tenten wasn't to happy about. Tenten just looked at him with sad eyes but knew she had to get going before anyone knew she was missing. She quickly ran as fast as she could out of the door off the ship then made her way back without a single sound.**

The next day came too soon for Tenten. Tenten could swear that Ino had about 100 dresses in her small closet. This time Ino force Tenten into a short red floral dress with a red corset over top. On the 

dress was an abstract floral design that wrapped around the dress making its way up. Her sleeves were flared and frilly. She dress was short and had lace on the bottom. Tenten figured Ino made the dress because no where could you find a dress this short anywhere. It hit about mid thigh and the lace made it hit 3 centimeters above her knees. Because Tenten was feeling uncomfortable, Ino let her were shorts underneath unseen. Tenten felt like a whore, but she knew she could never say it out loud to Ino who looked so proud. She knew her sister would love it because of the flowers and would look better on her then Tenten. Ino then put make up on Tenten while Hinata curled her hair and put it up in matching flower clips. Tenten knew then how her sister felt like each day, like a princess. Then again she also felt faint in the corset. This time Ino made sure that Tenten couldn't switch her shoes. But this time Tenten stashed small weapons all over her dress out of site. It was hard to hid anything because it would either be too big or too uncomfortable, but she did it anyways, because you could never be too careful, Tenten thought with a smirk. **Tenten realized she couldn't leave the medallion behind so she would have to find a place to hide it as well in her dress. She managed to shove the medallion into the belt of me dress. It was a large piece of fabric that made a bow in the back. She knew she wouldn't be able to bend over much but she would at least have it with her.**

There were a few minutes till it started as Ino pushed Tenten towards the town center where the Masquerade was being held. This town other than being famous for the man's paradise it was famous for its annual Masquerade. Ino was dressed in a purple flowered dress that was even shorter then Tenten's. But Tenten still thought that she looked like a princess with her hair curled and in a loose bun. Her mask was also purple and covered half her face and had flowers on it. Hinata was wearing a white gown that looked like silk. It looked handmade and really expensive. Hinata looked just as beautiful as Ino. This made Tenten even more self conscious.

Before they were in the center where Tenten could hear people laughing, Ino looked around the corner to see the person she wanted to see already waiting and in really nice looking clothing, she couldn't help but smile. Tenten was slowly tip toeing away trying to make her escape when she felt a sudden grip on her arm and was thrown back into the spotlight. But before Ino let go, she passed Tenten a mask that would cover around her eyes and matched the dress. As she started falling backwards, she saw Ino giving her an evil smile and wave. She couldn't catch herself and she was falling. She was prepared to have a sore butt that night when a strong hand caught her around the waist and pulled her into a well formed chest. She then heard a soft voice behind her asking if she was okay. She just gave a small squeak as she was pulled up and gave a nod keeping her head to the floor never looking up at the man who caught her.


	7. Chapter 7

She then quickly threw on the white mask -with a white flower pattern which make her mask opposite of her dress- and turned around to see Neji with a tint of red on his face. She knew he was good looking, but this time he was gorgeous. He was wearing a slightly open flare shirt with brown pants and black high boots with his hair up in a pony tail under a 3 pronged hat. She was lost for words, good thing for her that he thought she was extremely beautiful and that he too was lost for words. They stayed there for a while lost for words till he snapped out of it and bowed taking her hand in his kissing it.

"I am Neji Hyuuga, Captain of the ship 'The Hyuuga', niece of King Hiashi of the East Kingdom," Neji said as if it was the most common thing. Tenten just stared at him for a second but then curtsied in return with a smile on her face. He looked up as if expecting her to reply. She didn't want to lie to him but she didn't want to tell him her name.

"Let my name remain secret until the end of this Masquerade," then whispering she added with a bit of humor "why would we want to wear masks if we wanted everyone to know who we are." Tenten then smiled. Neji seemed intrigued but agreed none the less. He then offered his arm and she gladly took it. They talked, danced, drank a bit and walked around town. They chatted about almost anything that came to mind. Tenten and Neji were both connecting and finally Tenten could act like herself without anyone thinking she was a weird guy or something. While they were walking, Tenten shockingly got Neji to talk about the medallion.

"It has been passed down through my family to the inheriting male for generations. Since my uncle never had a boy, it was given to me. It's the most precious thing to the Hyuuga clan's heir since it only lights up for its owner's one true maiden. The one it glows for was destined to stay with the master forever weather they wanted to or not." Neji said with a small hint of depression.

"So has the medallion lit up yet? For you I mean." Tenten ask trying to sound intrigued though she already knew the answer. Neji's eyes flashed with an unclear emotion. He then started to talk about something else trying to avoid the topic. Tenten decided not to press it any further.

She and Neji slowly walked on a path in the forest when Tenten started getting an eerie feeling. Like spiders were crawling up her back.

"I think we should head back," Tenten said as she stopped walking, eyeing the darkness between the trees.

"Why?" Neji said with a questioning look.

"I feel…like were being watched," whispered Tenten giving a small shiver, as she again felt the spiders but this time up her arms. Suddenly the bushes shook making Tenten jump and Neji grabbed the hilt of his sword stepping in front of Tenten. Tenten slowly rested her hands on to her hilt of her swords that she managed to tuck into her corset, how she fit them in was a mystery. Suddenly a squirrel ran across the path, Tenten did a fake squeak just to keep up the defenseless act. She felt hot breath on her neck and turned around to see no one. Her heart beat started to speed up. She started to pant and sweat beads started to form on her forehead. She heard laughter through the forest she took a step back into Neji. She could hear his heart beat but it wasn't fast like hers it was slow and steady. She hated that her heart was beating fast.

"Neji-kun do you hear that," Tenten said quietly eyes darting around rapidly looking for the source of laughter. Neji just grabbed her arm and started to run as fast as he could. Tenten was trying to keep up but failed since her high heels caught a root. Neji stopped and ran back to her help her up. She slowly got up when suddenly a person jumped out of a tree to her left. Neji moved so he and his sword were in between the stranger and Tenten. Tenten got up and looked at the man trying to see if she recognized him for somewhere. She then saw man with 8 swords and a really spidery looking face.



The man looked at them his beady black eyes. He was licking his lips and that sent shiver back down her spine. This wasn't the first time Tenten had saw this face, she knew him from somewhere but she couldn't place it.

"Who are you and what's your purpose here?" Neji asked the spidery man quickly after he saw him licking his lips at Tenten. After he gave a low growl and stood closer to Tenten. Tenten after standing up didn't care to wipe the dirt off her knees. She kept her eyes on the man as he did her. Even after Neji asked his question the man never looked at him. Neji got even madder when the guy acted as if Neji wasn't even there.


	8. Chapter 8

"My name is _**Kidoumaru**_ and I am here to kidnap the princess." he said with a smile on his creepy looking face. Just looking at him sent shivers up her spine. She knew where he came from. She remembered now. He and his crew attacked her village many times. They were always fought off by her.

Flash Back.

_It was like any other day in west kingdom other than the fact that it was a lightning storm. Tenten and Sakura were getting ready for dinner. Sakura had finally persuaded Tenten into wearing a dress. _

"_Please Tenten. Only for this dinner! You haven't worn one in the last year." Tenten was about to say no when her sister brought out her secret weapon. _

"_Please, for me?" Sakura looked up at Tenten with her big green eyes. Tenten's defense was down. She hated when her sister would give her that look. Tenten gave a sigh and Sakura knew she had won the battle. Sakura had the most fun in a while dressing up her sister. She never understood why her sister hated dressing up she was so pretty. Sakura loved her sister and really wanted her to be happy. That is why she took her sisters place in marrying Sasuke. Sakura didn't really want to get married at 14 but if it was to let her sister be free. She would do anything. Dinner finally started with everyone giving an open mouth gape. Tenten looked like a real princess. No one could get over the fact she was in a dress (no one noticed the fact that Tenten hid her swords under the long ball gown dress. _

_Dinner was over in what seemed like years for Tenten. She hated ever second. She could feel the stares of everyone she crossed. Tenten decided to walk Sakura back to her room just in case. Good thing she did. When Sakura and Tenten were 4 doors away from Sakura's room they heard cannons. Tenten grabbed Sakura's hand and started to run. One corner till Sakura's room. They round the corner to see a man standing at the end of the hall looking out the windows. He was 10 meters away, Sakura's door was 2. Tenten couldn't make out the figure but when she saw 8 swords flash at his hip when the lighting reflected off of them. _

"_Kidoumaru" Tenten whispered. As if he heard her Kidoumaru looked from the window into her eyes. At first he looked confused then he looked angry. Tenten quickly reacted to the anger in his eyes by grabbing her swords. When Kidoumaru say the swords his anger went to madman fury. Tenten quickly grabbed her petrified sister's wrist and moved to her room and shoved her in shutting the door in front of her. It was only Tenten and Kidoumaru now. Tenten knew this would be harder than usual since she was in a dress also the fact that Kidoumaru recognized her and was beyond furious. Tenten prepared herself as Kidoumaru charged at her. Tenten was lucky. The fact that he was so mad that his he was just swinging made it easier. Tenten finally got a shot in and hit his arm. Kidoumaru stopped finally. They were both breathing hard. Kidoumaru looked at Tenten one more time before smirking_

"_Know that I know it is you your highness. I will make sure your next visit is a more….appropriate" He said with a sarcastic tone. Tenten felt like spiders were crawling up her spine that she gave a little shiver. Kidoumaru then did a bow turned around and left. The cannons had stopped a few minutes later. That's when Tenten fell to her knees. She was tired and shaking. She felt dizzy. So manythings could have gone wrong. She was just lucky. She heard the door next to her open. She then felt a pair of arms around her. She was helped up and put on a bed. Tenten slowly looked up to see her sister. Her eyes were red from crying. _

End of Flash back

This meant that Kidoumaru knew she was a real princess. This was not good; she had to get Neji out of there before everything was exposed.

"What are you talking about? No princess would come to this place. It's a lay away for pirates. No princess would dare show up here if the kingdom valued her. Now, go away before someone has to get hurt." Neji hissed with a sneer, questioning the spider guys words and actions. Why would he think there would be a princess on an island full of disgusting pirates, many who would be more than pleased to use her to get back at the kingdom? People here haven't seen water in the cleaning sense since they were born.

"Tell her that" The man said not looking a second away from Tenten. Neji quickly turned around to give a look at the girl who was covered in mud. Tenten looked behind her almost wishing by some chance that some girl who was dressed as a princess followed them into the forest and coincidently was right behind them at that moment. Not seeing anyone Tenten whispered out a curse knowing she would have to fight to keep her identity hidden. Knowing that Neji was looking at her she turned pretending that Kidoumaru was talking about another girl. Looking back she looked at Neji for a second. Looking into his white eyes so many emotions and questions where there that it made his eyes look foggy. Turning back around, Tenten and Neji said at the same time;

"Me?"

"Her?"

Neji turning back around looked at Tenten again. Almost pleading with her through his eyes for her to tell him it was all a lie.

Stuttering Tenten spat out "I can't be a princess. It was like what Neji said no princess would dare come here"

"Not unless she was the unwanted older child of the West Kingdom, who enjoys sword fighting and being dirty. Most would guess she was a commoner than a princess. She went missing a bit more than a week ago. Now there is a bounty out that whoever can bring her back alive will get 100 yorks." Kidoumaru said well he slowly walked to block the path back to the town. He was making sure to keep his distance as Neji kept a careful eye on him.

Neji being too close for Tenten to react reached over and…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Neji being too close for Tenten to react reached over and … ripped off Tenten's mask.

The only reaction Tenten could do was to scream "no" and attempted to cover her face. Neji threw the mask away and grabbed Tenten's hands to pull them away from her face.

Her life was over. He would leave her on this island, he would hand her over to Kidoumaru or he would bring her home. He would kill her for lying to him or worse he would bring her back home.

"Tenten?" Tenten looked into his eyes to see many emotions flash through, anger, shock, relief, and disappointment.

"I'm sorry I had to, no I _needed_ to get away. They were strangling me. I couldn't handle it." Tenten tried to convince Neji. Neji suddenly stumbled back as everything hit him.

She was a princess. She pretended to be a boy. She was on his ship. She lied to him.

The second Neji stumbled back Kidoumaru took his chance to race in. He hoisted Tenten over his shoulder knocking her out in the process. Tenten would have reacted before he did that but her heart broke in two when she saw the hurt in Neji's eyes.

The second Kidoumaru started to run Neji was on his tail. As he was running after Kidoumaru he noticed something sparkle in his path and picked it up while he ran past shoving it quickly into his back pocket. He didn't care if Tenten lied, he needed to know everything. Secretly deep inside he would never admit that he actually just needed her. He didn't know why but the thought of her leaving him made a hole in his chest. He would never say it or admit it but he actually fell in love with her.

They reached the end of the forest when Neji realized that cannons and screams could be heard. They appeared in the middle of a battle. Kidoumaru's crew from the ship 'Silent Screams' appeared and was terrorizing the normally wild town. Since many were to drunk they couldn't fight back, it was a losing battle.

Neji tried to keep up with Tenten and Kidoumaru but whenever he got close someone from Silent Screams would cut him off making him lose sight of Kidoumaru. Neji knew where Kidoumaru was going, to the ship.

Tenten felt a throbbing in her head. She felt the pain from the lump at the back of her head. Why did it hurt so much? Suddenly Neji's confused sad face was projected into her mind. Tenten's heart suddenly felt like it was in her throat. Her eyes started to tear up she went to wipe the tears away when she realized that she couldn't move her hands. She opened her eyes to see nothing. She tried blinking hoping that her eyes maybe weren't fully open. Nothing changed, she was in the dark. Tenten realized that her feet were also tied up. She opened her mouth to scream but realized someone had tied a dirty rag around her mouth. Tenten knew she was in trouble. Instead of freaking out Tenten sat and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She could slightly make out the shape of boxes. Storage room maybe. She blinked a couple more times to finally be able to see the door. It was right across from her.

She suddenly heard loud banging then the knob started turning. Tenten closed her eyes and went back into the position she woke up in. She heard some voices one sounded like a girl and the other a big man. It sounded like they were pissed. The door opened and Tenten tried not to wince because of the light. She could finally make out what the girl was saying.

"Why did he make us get her? Look at her she's so pathetic, look at her Jirobou. I don't know why he doesn't just kill her." The girl said in a pissed tone.

"I think it is all part of captains plan Tayuya." Jirobou said in return.

"Well let's get her to captain before I kill her." Tayuya hissed. Tenten felt an arm around her waist as she suddenly was hoisted on to a big shoulder. Tenten gave a small 'oof' as she landed.

Tenten didn't know if they heard her but they said nothing to reassure her. Tenten tried to hear and follow where they were taking her. 5 steps, ladder, 14 steps, door, 12 steps, another door. Tenten felt herself be pulled by her hair off the big man's shoulder. She let out a small muffled scream. This was the end.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Tenten let out a whimper when she felt the pull on her hair. Tayuya let out a maniacal laugh.

"Welcome to our home _princess" _Tayuya hissed the last word out like venom. Tenten opened her eyes to see five people in front of her. Three she could figure out who they were. There was Kidoumaru with his eight swords. The only girl had to be Tayuya, she looked smaller than her personality let on. Then the biggest man must be Jirobou. Now there were only two men left. They looked identical.

"Welcome on board Princess" Kidoumaru said as he bowed. Tenten struggled with the tie around her wrists. She let out some grumbles as she fought with the ties. All the people in front of her smirked with amusement.

"Let's see what our princess has to say about this particular situation she's in." Kidoumaru said as he untied the rag around her mouth.

"Let me go! I'll kill you all. Let me go!" Tenten started to scream and swear at them till Tayuya took a step forward and slapped Tenten across the face. Tenten just looked up at her after recovering from the blow.

"You will keep your mouth shut!" Tayuya screamed at Tenten. Tenten stopped talking and just stared. Suddenly the boat gave a violent shake.

"He must be here." Jirobou thought out loud. Everyone in the room started to leave the room.

"Who?" Tenten asked knowing she would hate herself for asking.

Kidoumaru turned around before he shut the door and gave a smile that made Tenten shiver as the spiders went up her spine again.

"Orochimaru" He said as he shut the door behind him. Leaving Tenten alone in the room. Tenten started to shake as she remembered what he said to her before on the Hyuuga.

Tenten had to act quickly to get away. She quickly moved her hands from behind her back under her butt. She was happy that she was put into dance classes to help her flexibility and also sword playing. Her teacher always said that to learn how to sword play, you must be able to dance. Tenten then stretched forward and hooked her hands around her feet. Her hands were now in front of her. Tenten swiftly moved her hands to her face and used her teeth to untie the rag that was around them. After some quick untying she started to hear voices and footsteps coming down the hall. Tenten checked to see if they had taken any of her weapons. Lots of her little weapons were taken but surprisingly her swords were still in place. The voices were now outside the door. Tenten quickly put her hands behind her back to make it look like she was still tied up.

"She's in here." she heard Kidoumaru say. The door opened and in walked Orochimaru. Tenten stiffened up as she saw his snake like face. When he saw her he stuck his long slimy tongue out and licked his lips. Tenten shivered again. Behind him walked in the creepy guy with the glasses. Following him was the other five crew members. Tenten felt scared, before her stood seven of the fiercest pirates known to the West Kingdom. Any of them would kill her at any second and she wouldn't be able to do anything.

"It's only a matter of time before your _captain _comes to get you." Orochimaru hissed.

"He won't come here you have nothing that he wants." Tenten argued back secretly hoping that she was lying to herself. She wanted him to come. She was scared, she needed him to comfort her. She wouldn't ever show how scared she was, she must be strong.

"I wouldn't know about that." The man with glasses said as he held up the medallion. Tenten's eyes widened. Those sea scum's, how dare they touch the medallion with their dirty hands. Tenten's eyes went ablaze. She was ready to pounce but held back. It was not the right time, she would be tied back down.

"We should get ready for battle, Sakon, Ukon get the cannons ready. Tayuya, Jirobou, we will go up and prepare the deck, let's go." Kidoumaru said as he gestured with his head towards the door. Tenten almost wanted to get on her knees and beg for them not to leave her alone with Orochimaru. She tried to look at them and beg with her eyes for them to stay. None of them looked at her but Orochimaru saw the look and made his smile grow. He knew that he struck fear into Tenten's heart and was going to use that against her. Once the door was closed Orochimaru looked at his counterpart and without saying a word the man with glasses handed over the medallion and walked out of the room. Tenten thought she was freaking out before now she was hysterical. All thoughts left her head other then the thoughts of how she could get out alive. Orochimaru slithered towards her. Tenten moved away only to be stopped by the wall. She than realized she was on the bed with a small dress on. Orochimaru then started to crawl towards her. Tenten looked around frantically hoping to find something that would help her. He was closer now. Tenten then remembered her hands were untied.

Orochimaru was so close that Tenten had to turn her face to the side to avoid touching him. Orochimaru then licked the side of her face. Tenten snapped. She quickly pushed him on to the ground and jumped off the bed grabbing her swords out of her corset. Orochimaru jumped off the floor also grabbing his sword. The medallion now was on the ground in between the two of them. Tenten started to fight him. After a hard struggle she got Orochimaru sword less. She quickly cut his side.

"That was payback for last time." Tenten said as Orochimaru slithered on the ground in pain. Tenten smirked the adrenaline was still running through her veins. She felt on fire. She then smiled more when she heard the sounds of cannons. She quickly grabbed the medallion and ran towards top deck. Neji was close she could tell. She opened the doors that lead out on the deck. She suddenly stood still in shock.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Flash back with Neji_

_Silent Screams_ had left dock a while ago. Neji raced around town to get his crew. The crew of _Silent Screams_ destroyed the place. There were dead people everywhere and lots of the buildings were either burnt to the ground or black from the flames. Neji finally reached the bar and kicked open the doors. He let out a sigh of relief when most of he saw that most of his crew was there. Shikamaru's arm was hurt but Ino was treating it. Naruto was getting stuff for Hinata to help her treat some other wounds. Other than some minor wounds his crew was in good order.

When the door slammed shut behind him Hinata and Ino looked up in anticipation. When they saw him they both jumped up and surrounded him. They were both looking for _her_. He knew it.

"Where is she!?" Ino screamed. Neji walked pass them sitting down in depression. He was slowly collecting his thoughts. Tenten was gone. They took her away and he could do nothing about it. He was upset that she lied but he couldn't place why he was not furious with her. After a good few minutes of ignoring the questions that Ino was spitting out at rapid fire Neji snapped.

"Stop!" Neji yelled. Everyone in the pub went silent as the dead. He had never snapped before but he had had enough.

"She gone they kidnapped her and I could do nothing! I couldn't save her. He well, she lied to us all. He is really a girl who dressed as a guy to get away from her life. I couldn't do anything to help her instead I stood there and watched her as she was taken away. " Neji cried out.

"What are you talking about Neji?" Shikamaru asked confused by his captain's words and actions.

"Tenten lied to us all. She is actually the princess of the West kingdom. She used us to run away from her kingdom. Now I am sure that the kingdom has the whole navy after us." Neji said in return.

"Where is she now?" Shikamaru asked after a moment of silence.

"On _Silent Screams_." Neji said as he took a cool gulp of the liquid that Naruto put in front of him when he first sat down.

"You let them take her away! How could you! She made the medallion glow! She was our crew mate our friend, how can you sit here and not go after her!" Hinata yelled. She was beyond her breaking point too. Everyone stared at Hinata with wide eyes and open mouths. Soft little Hinata just yelled. Yelled at Neji, Neji! Of all people. Even Neji was in shock, but for a different reason.

'The medallion' He thought. She made it glow. He hated to admit it but truthfully he was mad at himself for not seeing it earlier. After mentally slapping himself, Neji stood up.

"Everyone to the ship, we're going after them." When Neji announced this everyone stood up clapping and cheering as they left only leaving Hinata, Ino, Naruto and Neji.

Neji went up to Hinata and grabbed her well saying. "Where is the medallion?"

"The last I saw it was on the ship"

"It's not there Tenten has it" Ino cut in. "I saw her bring it into the house late last night then in the morning when I put the dress on her she put it in her belt".

Neji gave a nod and started to walk towards the door. He then realized more than one footsteps was following him. He turned around to see Naruto and Ino walking with Hinata behind him.

"You guys aren't coming" Neji said in his captain tone.

"We're coming, and you can't stop us" Ino said as she and Naruto walked beside him.

"I got Tenten into this mess so were going to get her out" Ino said Naruto agreed with a reassuring nod.

"No, you guys are going to stay here. I don't want to bring more people that will just get in the way." Neji said as he walked on.

"Wait a moment. You don't think me and Naruto sit around all the time when we aren't working. We've been sword fighting since we were babies. We can defend ourselves all we needed was a ship to get out of this hell hole, so were coming with you." Ino said as she poked Neji in the chest stopping him from walking.

"Fine but I'm not going to guard you"

They were going to save Tenten no matter what. Just before they got to the boat Neji realized they weren't the only boat at the dock. Beside his was another huge boat with the Northern flag raised.

This surprised Neji greatly he didn't think that Prince Sasuke would be this far away from his kingdom. He must be here for something important especially if he would come _here_ to the pirate center to get it. Neji saw his crew on land facing the other nicely dressed crew. Neji walked out front as they approached Sasuke and his crew. Beside him was a girl with pink hair. Neji then realized that it must me Sakura, Tenten's sister. Neji and Sasuke were now an arm's length away from each other. Sasuke already protectively in front of Sakura as she clung to his sleeve.

"Are you Neji Hyuuga captain of the legendary _Hyuuga_?" Neji said in a serious tone.

"And if I am?" Neji answered in an equally monotone voice.

"Hand over Princess Tenten, before we are forced to use violence." Sasuke answered.

"Knowing you've already searched my ship, you should know that she is not here. Now if you please we must be going." Neji said as he took a step to pass Sasuke. In a flash he was suddenly stopped by a small figure standing in front of him grabbing his shirt.

"Where is she! I want my sister back please! I just want to see my sister!" Sakura cried into Neji's shirt. Sasuke just as quickly attempted to yank Sakura off of Neji's shirt. But even with his force Sakura held her spot. Neji looked down at the crying girl and suddenly saw Tenten. Tenten was scared crying. He needed to get to her now, she was in trouble.

"Your Highness, I promise you will see your sister in a little while. Right now I need to talk with Sasuke." Neji said as he patted the little girls head in an effort to stop her crying. Sakura gave a nod then let Sasuke pull her away then pass her off to another crew member who took her to the ship.

"Prince Sasuke, you need to know somethings" Neji said turning towards Sasuke.

After Neji explained the situation, leaving out the part about the medallion, the part about Orochimaru stabbing Tenten and maybe modifying the part when he was in too much shock to stop Tenten from getting taken. They agreed that they would need to combine forces to finish the battle with fewer casualties. They headed out to follow Tenten.

After traveling for hours Kiba finally spotted the ship. But it was not alone. Hydra was with them. Neji was thankful that he decided to bring Sasuke along. They finally got close enough to start firing the cannons.

'_Hold on Tenten, I'll save you' _Neji thought as they started attacking.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Neji jumped on to _Silent Screams_ and started to fight right away. He was trying to look for Tenten but hadn't seen her yet. Suddenly the door to inside the cabin flew open and out came Tenten. Neji could see her but she looked in bad shape. Her dress was cut in many places her hair was a mess but what amazed him was that she looked full of life. Tenten was in shock for a bit and as Neji started towards her he realized that Tenten was then surrounded by two pirates. Neji felt anger full him up.

Tenten fought them off but she suddenly lost her sword. A girl grabbed Tenten by the hair and held a sword to her neck whispering something into her ear well they looked at him. Then the bigger one took the Medallion from Tenten's hand and held it over the side of the deck. Neji stopped.

_Tenten's view._

Tenten opened the doors onto the deck to see lots of her friends fighting. Ino and Shikamaru were fighting some pirates at the bow. Naruto was defending Hinata as she treated people near the port. Sasuke was even there defending the ships. Tenten was so happy that she did not notice Tayuya sneaking up behind her until she saw someone point behind her. Tenten quickly used one of her swords to stop the blow. Tenten made sure to have a hard grip on the medallion with the other hand. This was really hard for Tenten. She was use to fighting with two swords one wasn't strong enough. Suddenly Tayuya hit Tenten's sword out of her hand. When Tenten was running to grab it Tayuya grabbed her hair and forced her to kneel. Tenten after fighting to get out of the hard held grip, winced when she felt something sharp at her neck. Tenten gasped but still faintly struggled but stopped when she heard Tayuya's voice.

"He's not going to choose you. He hates you. You lied to him. You used him. He won't save you", Tayuya whispered to Tenten as she held her hair. Jirobou ripped the medallion out of Tenten's hands and was holding it over the side of the ship. Tenten started to silently cry. Neji would save the medallion instead. Tenten knew everything Tayuya said was true. Neji was only there to save the Medallion. Tenten looked at Neji. He wasn't moving his eyes going back and forth from the Medallion to Tenten. Then his eyes stopped on the Medallion.

Tenten closed her eyes awaiting her death from Tayuya's blade, but she did not feel it. She opened her eyes in a flash when she felt the blade move from her throat and Tayuya's hand loosened from her hair. Neji was there fighting off Tayuya. Tenten quickly looked towards Jirobou and the Medallion. He was still holding it looking at the scene with Tayuya and Neji. Tenten got up and much to Neji's protest ran towards Jirobou without her sword. Jirobou looked at Tenten running towards him when Tenten was two steps away he let go of the medallion and grabbed his sword preparing for a fight. Tenten totally ignoring him ran past him over the railing and into the water. The last thing she heard before she hit the cold water was Neji screaming her name.

_Neji's view_

They had Tenten and the Medallion. They were making him choose between a family heirloom and a girl. If it was with any other girl he would choose the medallion right away but it was Tenten. Neji looked back and forth from Tenten to the medallion and finally set his eyes on the Medallion. To anyone it looked like he chose the medallion but really Neji was saying farewell. He quickly ran towards Tenten and Tayuya, never looking at Jirobou or the Medallion. Tayuya was caught off guard that she let go of Tenten and used her sword to stop the strike that Neji gave. Neji then saw something move in the corner of his eye. He pushed Tayuya away to see Tenten running towards Jirobou without her swords.

"Tenten stop!" Neji yelled but was forced to look away by Tayuya. She took this chance to try and attack him. Neji quickly turned and stabbed Tayuya through the stomach and again looked over towards Jirobou. All he saw was Tenten jumping over the edge of the boat. He wasn't the only one who saw. Neji and Sasuke ran towards the side of the ship yelling for Tenten. Jirobou was taken away by Ino and Naruto as they too raced over to look for Tenten. They quickly finished Jirobou off and looked over the edge.

Neji without a second thought through his sword at Sasuke and jumped in after Tenten.

_Tenten's view_

Tenten hit the cold water harder then she thought. The cold started to nip at her. Tenten finally got over the shock of the cold water and started looking for the medallion right away. It was a couple meters below her and sinking fast. Tenten quickly started to swim after it. She was running out of air but she had to get it. She knew if she went up to breath she would lose it. She reached it finally but she was out of air. She struggled to get to the surface but the more she swam up towards the sky the farther away it became. Her dress was just too heavy and her limbs were to cold to try to get it off. Finally Tenten felt like her lungs were going to explode from her chest and couldn't swim anymore. She went to take a breath and only swallowed water. She closed her eyes for the last time. As her eyes were closing she saw Neji. This made her smile in the end she got to see him. She could die happily.

_Neji's view_

Neji jumped in without thinking. One thought was on his mind to save Tenten no matter what. He landed in the cold water. He quickly swam to the top of the water to catch his breath. After taking a huge breath he dived down to look for Tenten. She wasn't hard to find. She looked just like an angel among the dark water. Neji swam harder after her to catch her. She was sinking. He finally grabbed her on to her hand. The moment he touched her he saw a glowing light from the same hand that he grabbed. He looked in her hand to see the medallion glowing. The next second the medallion glowed so bright that Neji was blinded. Both Neji and Tenten then were suddenly above the water. Neji did not even question what happened he was just thankful they were above the water. Neji after catching his breath held her head above water. Neji felt hands on the back of his shirt and the next second Tenten and him were hauled out of the water, ungracefully.

Neji realized that he was being hauled up a ladder. The whole time he did not let Tenten out of his grip. She was unconscious limp in his arms like last time. However this time he was more careful because he knew she was a girl. She looked more fragile now. Her hair was sticking in front of her face. Her dress was wet to her body showing her curves. She looked beautiful. He then felt himself be pulled onto the ship deck. His first reaction was to protect Tenten at all costs. So he grabbed his small knife from his boot and held it out protectively in front of himself and Tenten ready to fight anyone or anything off.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Then he saw Chouji between him and the ladder and everyone else from his crew surrounding him. Neji put down the knife but didn't loosen his grip on Tenten. He then looked past his crew to see one of the enemy ships sailing away. He gave a look at the other ship to see Sasuke on it with his crew cheering. Neji looked back and the ship sailing away and held on to Tenten tighter, that's when he felt it, she was colder than before. Neji looked down at Tenten and realized she was turning blue. Neji quickly picked up Tenten and just like before he ran into Hinata's medicine room. He put Tenten on the table but he didn't realize Tenten had a grip on his shirt.

"Neji-onii-sama could you please move she needs to warm up" Hinata said not stuttering once. After her yelling in the pub Hinata's stuttering stopped.

"I can't." Neji replied once again as he pointed to his shirt. Hinata quickly got blankets and warm water. Neji took Tenten's hand in his because he was going nowhere. Suddenly the door slammed open and before Neji had to turn his head to see who it was he heard the sound of high heels and a soft voice saying Tenten's name over and over. Suddenly pink hair was beside Neji looking at Tenten.

"Tenten. Tenten, you're safe! Thank god! Tenten I've missed you. We're going to go home, so wake up." Sakura said as silent tears came down for her eyes and landed on Tenten's face. Sakura too stayed with Neji and Tenten till Hinata came back in the room.

"The bath is ready now. We need to get her into the bath". Right when Hinata said the word bath Neji had Tenten limp in his arms running past Hinata. Sakura following close behind.

"Please leave Captain, I would like to take my sisters clothes off and put her in the bath, please." Sakura said in a soft but strong voice. Neji didn't even acknowledge she was there. He walked past her into the bathroom shutting and locking the door behind him much to Sakura's protests. Then knowing he was running out of time jumped into the bath with Tenten all their clothes still on. It stung at first but slowly the waters heat was warming them up. He then slowly started to take off the heavy layers of Tenten's clothing. Who decided to dress her in so many layers? The clothes never seemed to stop. Finally Tenten was left in her underclothing. He hugged Tenten closer to him and moved the wet hair away from her face. He was happy to see that some colour was back in her face but she was still deathly cold and blue. Neji looked at her again this time feeling a sudden urge to kiss her he leaned down and kissed her.

Suddenly the door was kicked open by an angry force. Neji's head shot up towards the door. There stood a really mad Sakura with an equally mad Hinata. Sasuke stood behind them along with some of the others from the crew. However then the red faced pink hair princess looked at her sister wearing next to nothing in the bath with Neji she let out a small shriek and turned away from them. Hinata not looking at the now shocked Sakura walked right towards Neji and Tenten. Neji tensed up realizing he had no way in protecting himself against Hinata's new found rage. Hinata walked up and ignoring Neji looked at Tenten. Hinata quickly felt Tenten's forehead. Neji looked only at Hinata waiting for a reaction. Sakura and the rest had all surrounded the tub also waiting. Hinata after looking over Tenten looked to Neji. The look in her eyes Neji knew it was impossible. Tenten was gone. She was never coming back.

Neji looked at Tenten's face and held back some tears. Hinata took this as a time to get everyone out of the room. Realizing what had happened Sakura started to go hysterical. She started to scream and cry. Her sister was dead. Sakura then tried to grab her sister. Sasuke reacted quickly and grabbed Sakura's arms holding her back from trying to hurt herself or her sister. Sakura at first struggled hitting his chest but then gave up knowing Sasuke wouldn't let her go. She then went limp as her knees gave way from all the shaking. Sasuke caught her and knowing that Neji probably wanted to be alone with Tenten, picked up Sakura and carried her out of the room. Sakura held on to him trying to catch her breath between tears and the denial. The rest of the crew followed none of them saying a word but all having a sullen aura. Hinata being the last one in the room turned give a last sad look to her cousin left shutting the door.

Neji not saying anything just looked at Tenten. She looked like she was only sleeping. Her hair was out of its buns and flowing in the tub. Neji lost for words just looked at his fallen angel. Finally he did what he only had done once in his life when his mother died. He cried. Tears started to come from his eyes onto Tenten's angelic face. He then held her tighter to himself. He then let out a frustrated cry. He couldn't save her. The first person he fell in love with and he couldn't save her. Without thinking he grabbed her hand and held it over his heart as he leaned over and kissed her. While kissing her he let out all his anger, frustration, sadness and love out in his tears. He continued to kiss her. Not noticing that his tears were falling into their hands over his heart. Suddenly there was another bright light. It was warm and soft like sunshine. Neji and Tenten were suddenly in a field of flowers dressed in nice white silk clothing. Neji looked around amazing but also puzzled. Suddenly something appeared from the skies and landed next to Neji.

Thanks for putting up with my delayed uploadings =D this is just an early Christmas present. I hope to finish the rest of this story over Christmas then post them all =D

I hope you like it

XOXO

Kamilog


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The figure came from the sky with grace and power. As it landed Neji looking into its eyes, the eyes of the creature were just as white as his. It was the dragon that was around the medallion. Neji was overcome with awe. The dragon the spoke with a voice that sounded like a song. The voice spoke right into his mind as it didn't A song that touched even the coldest darkest part of Neji's heart and made it feel warm.

"Welcome, what have you come here to ask me?"

Neji was too shocked to think. He couldn't remember anything. He didn't have anything to ask for. He was about to get up when he felt a weight upon him. Neji looked down snapping out of his stupor. There lay Tenten. Neji now remembered Tenten, he had to save Tenten.

"Please save her!" Neji said as he picked up Tenten.

The dragon replied;

"To have a wish like that I must have something greater or of equal value. You wish for her life you must give me a life or something equal to it." Neji was suddenly hit with realization that if he was to save her he must sacrifice himself.

"Would my life be good enough?" Neji said back his voice threatening to crack. The dragon looked at him with emotionless eyes. The Dragon nodded. It felt like a cold hand was squeezing Neji's heart. He would never be with Tenten but she would live. He looked down at Tenten again. She was dressed in a white silk gown.

"Can I talk with her before she goes back." Neji asked as a last resort of telling Tenten how he felt about her.

The dragon again nodded but not before warning.

"She may not be the same Tenten you once loved. Being reborn means making new memories and having new experiences. She could not know who you are. Are you still willing to give up your life for what could be a stranger?" Neji looked up at the dragon then down at Tenten. She could be a stranger. Would he be able to deal with that? After a second of thought he knew the answer. Giving a nod Neji held himself high with Tenten in his arms.

The dragon floated towards Neji and Tenten. Neji with slight fear of the size of the Dragon wanted to step away but he held his ground. He only held Tenten tighter to himself fearing she would disappear. The dragon then was face to face with Neji he looked deep into Neji eyes. Neither was blinking. The dragon then touched his nose onto Tenten. There was a small light where he had touched her. It then spread around her body. Neji looked down at her face waiting. After what seemed like eternity Neji felt Tenten warm up and starting to breathe. She coughed out some water as she slowly opened her chocolate brown eyes. Neji looked hopeful for a second but; with a second look he realized she had no emotion in them. Her once fiery brown eyes now stood dead to the world. Neji slowly let Tenten stand up on her own. Tenten looked indifferent towards everything. She turned around and faced Neji. Finally in the sweet voice Neji heard so many times yelling at him she said in a totally monotone voice "Who are you?" Neji could feel his heart in his throat, tears threatened to fall again. This felt worse than her dying. The one that Neji loved was in front of him yet so far away. Before Neji could answer the Dragon answered for him.

"The real question is who are you?" Tenten looked up at the dragon her expression not changing still showing no emotion. After a second she answered.

"I don't know". A small bit of emotion suddenly showed when she turned back to Neji.

"Who am I?" Neji continued to try and hold back his tears.

"You are Tenten" Neji finally forced out. It took all he could not to choke on his words.

"First Princess of the West Kingdom." After Neji said this Tenten just nodded slightly.

"Who are you? Have I met you before?" Tenten was slowly becoming less emotionless with each question.

"I am Neji." The next part tortured him but he knew he had to do it. "A pirate who captured you and kept you prisoner, you hate me and wish me dead." The next small set of emotions that flash through Tenten's eyes slightly surprised Neji. First it was hate but then it was confusion then compassion then again puzzlement.

"No, I don't think so" Tenten slowly stepped forward and took Neji's face into her hands.

"I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you and you didn't kidnap me I hid on your ship." With each word Tenten eyes became more alive. Slowly her memories were coming back. Neji almost cried tears of joy. He took Tenten in his arms and hugged her. Tenten first was shocked but then hugged back. Neji then slowly pulled away. It was almost time for her to go. However before she went, he only wanted one more thing.

"May I ask for one request before you go" Neji asked Tenten. Tenten looked shocked but then for the first time since she came back alive she smiled and even slightly let out a giggle.

"Anything"

"May I have one last kiss" Neji asked almost wanting to take it back.

"Anything, for my hero." Tenten replied.

Neji and Tenten slowly moved closer and for the first time Neji kissed her when she was awake. They continued to kiss and kiss. Neji then felt a tug at his heart. It was time for her to go. Slowly moving away Neji turned away from Tenten not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

"It's time for you to go back" Neji said in his most monotone voice.

Tenten was quick to reply "Ok then come with me, we can go together." She knew what he really meant but she hoped he was making a mistake.

"No, only you are going back." Neji again said in his monotone voice. He wished she would have left when she didn't remember because then this would have been easier. He then turned his back to her hoping it would loosen the iron grip that held his heart.

Tenten looked at him turn away from her. She felt a tug telling her it was time to go. She looked at the Dragon.

"No. I'm not going. Neji is going home not me." Neji turned around quickly. Anger and confusion in his eyes.

"No. My life was the deal for yours. Go home Tenten."

"No. Not with out you. I love you Neji. I don't want to leave with out you."

"You have to. You're the heiress of the kingdom."

"I don't care!"

Neji grabbed Tenten by her arms. Wanting to shake her into thinking it over. She had to go back. He was nothing come paired to her. She was a princess and he was a pirate.

He looked at the Dragon almost as if looking for help in getting her to go home. He then realized that for the first time the Dragon showed some emotion. It was amusement.

"There is something as equal to a life other than another life. However it could be even more grave." The Dragon then continued to explain. After a lot of arguing, they decided.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

1 month later

The sunlight burns. Tenten rolled over and pulled the covers over her eyes. Why did her window have to face the sun every morning? Just as Tenten was falling back asleep she heard the bustling of the maid's feet's into her room. Suddenly the room brightened up five times with a swoosh of the curtains. Tenten gave up on trying fall back asleep. She pushed off her covers to face the day ahead. She was going to get married today to some soon to be king in the Eastern Kingdom however, she could never bring her self to care. While Tenten was out to sea something happened in the East kingdom so they had to name a new king. He was not the past kings son but was some close relative. Even though she hated the idea of getting married to a stranger, she was somewhat happy to be home again. However ever since the merchant ship brought her back she has found herself looking out on the ocean as if she was missing something. Since Tenten got back she never felt anything. She just didn't care about anything. The only time she ever felt something was when she was looking out at the sea. The maids moved Tenten behind the curtains and started to change her as she looked out the window. Tenten didn't even pay attention to them.

When she thought back to the trip, she could remember all about the voyage. About The Huuyga, Hinata, Ino, Naruto, Orochimaru (even the name still sends shivers up her spine), the Terrible Four, Kiba, the fight on the ships, the masquerade, even Captain Huuyga. Every time she thought about the strange captain she felt a small tingling in her heart. She didn't think much about it. How could she, she was a princess and he a pirate. When she was on his ship she never saw him much since he kept to his cabin.

Even after the adventure Tenten still loved the ocean. She still wished she could be on a ship sailing around under a flag.

Suddenly the door burst open and over the screen Tenten can make out a pink blob bouncing up and down. Ever since Tenten has gotten back Sakura has never left her hip. Tenten felt more relaxed when Sakura was around which made her happy.

Tenten let out a breath when they pulled the strings of her corset. Tenten still hated to wear a dress. She knew she would later have to shove some weapons in it somewhere. Tenten then felt the dreadful feel of expensive material fall over her head. Her vision then goes white. As the dress moved over her eyes Tenten swore she saw something almost dragon like. The image imprinted itself in Tenten's thoughts but then was easily pushed to the back of her mind. Sakura pushed away the screen exposing Tenten to an angry faced Sakura. Tenten could easily see that the pink haired princess was mad; Tenten had ignored her when Sakura was talking to her. Tenten again saw Sakura's lips purse she was ready to explode. However the picture of a girl with brown hair in an up-do wearing a long flowing wedding dress caught her attention. Sakura realized the look on her sister's face and turned to see what she was looking at.

There was a mirror reflecting her and Tenten. Tenten's expression was almost empty with a hint of confusion even fear. Ever since her sister has been home she has been like a ghost. Never really there, she almost blended into the background. Tenten always seemed to be in another place and was always looking out the windows at the sea. Since Tenten has gotten back Sakura has caught her looking out the windows in the hallways quite a few times with a sad, lost look. Sakura was worried for her sister ever since Tenten almost died. Sakura never left her sister worried that the next time she left she would never come back. Sakura knew that Tenten would wander around aimlessly. Tenten was so out of it she didn't even fight her parents when they said she was going to be married. Sakura new her sister lost something important when she was away. However no matter how many times her sister told her about the voyage there always seemed to be a piece missing. Sakura was afraid for her sister. Sakura never liked the fact that her sister was empty, so she tried to act as normal as possible and never leave her sisters side.

"So you ready for your big day?" Sakura asked trying to be as happy as possible. Tenten not wavering from the reflection just shrugged.

"Come on Ten! Be excited you get to marry a king!" Sakura said trying to be positive.

"Soon to be you mean. He's still a commoner till then" Tenten said looking at her sister.

Shrugging her Sakura answered "But just think, you will live across the world. You even get to cross the sea! Each time you come to see me you can ride a ship!" Sakura said. When the words ship and sea were said Sakura could see a flash of excitement cross Tenten's eyes. Tenten once again looked at her reflection.

Suddenly the maids put the white veil over Tenten's face. Good thing it was hard to see though then Tenten knew that Sakura wouldn't see the look of fear in Tenten's eyes. Tenten had to hold in a body wrenching sob as the fears sank in. Tenten was scared. She didn't want to be married. She didn't want to be queen. She didn't want to be of royal blood. She didn't want to be stuck in a castle. She didn't want to bare children for a stranger. She was scared. She was alone. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be out on the sea having an adventure. The door opened as the queen entered Tenten's room. As she made her way over she gave a gasp of happiness.

"My, My Tenten you look gorgeous. I'm so happy that you let your hair out of those ugly buns and got rid of those awful boys' clothes. I can't wait after your wedding when I can finally have grandchildren. Oh you are going to have such cute children. I saw the king. He's really good looking you are going to be so hap…". Tenten had, had it. She ran. Ran away. She didn't even stop or turn around at her sister's and mothers cries. She kept running. She couldn't do it. She couldn't get married. Tears threatened to fall. She kept running. Tenten felt that running was the only thing she could do to get away from her fears. She didn't know where she planned to go or what she would do after but she still ran. She tore the veil off as she ran out the castle doors. Her hair whipped violently around her as the wind moved it freely around her face. The heels were hard to run in so she threw them off and started to run in bare feet. The feel of the street and the grass felt nice and made her feel free. She was free she almost cried with happiness.

Before Tenten knew what had happened she ran into a body. She then collapsed into tears. She couldn't tell if they were tears of joy or tears of fear. She didn't care which one or who was holding her, she just let it out. She cried and cried and cried. Her whole body shook with the tears. After what seemed like forever Tenten finally slowed down her crying she decided to spare the person anymore awkwardness. Before she looked up at the person she realized she felt cold. She looked around and realized she was in the cave. Not any cave but the one that she found the medallion in. After a quick realization she looked up at the figure who held as still as a wall in the cave. She tried to move some of her hair out of her face as the snot and tears glued it to the spot.

The first thing she got caught by was the pearl white eyes that could stare through her soul. They looked cold and hard though if you looked close enough you could see a small fire burning in the back. Next was the long black hair that was held back in a low ponytail. She recognized him but from where.

"Are you done yet?" The man said in a cold voice. Tenten was suddenly mad. This ass saw that she was crying and he didn't even care.

"Well aren't you just a gentleman." Tenten said sarcastically. "Don't rush to pass me a hanker chief or ask if I'm ok."

The man just gave a quick smirk. "You have a bit of snot coming out of your nose".

Tenten quickly stood up embarrassed. She wiped it off on the dress.

"Who are you anyways? You remind me of someone" Tenten asked while attempted to de-stick her hair from her face.

"You don't remember the one who owns the ship that you stowed away on." He said.

"Captain Neji?" Tenten looked him over and then recognized him. She gave a laugh when she realized he had snot and tear stain on his shirt. He looked down displeased with the condition his shirt was in. after an attempt to wipe it off realizing it was impossible Neji scowled at the torn up girl. This situation rang a bell in the back of his mind but he just threw it away. This was only the second time he ever really laid eyes on the proclaimed princess. She looked worse than the last time. She was in a white dress that was torn and dirtied from all the mud. However for some reason Neji couldn't look away from her face. Even though her eyes were red from crying and her hair looked like a birds nest her laugh made her look like an angel. Neji caught himself mid thought. Why was he saying this about a stranger? He needed to get out quick.

Just as he had enough of her laughing at him (though he won't emit that he liked her laugh) he turned to leave but was made to pause by Tenten taking a step forward saying "here let me help you clean that off. Sorry about dirtying your nice shirt." She picked a piece of dress that was clean and started to rub at the stain on his shirt.

"You shouldn't dirty your dress it looks good on you…" Once it came out Neji wanted to stab himself. Why did he say that? 'I think I might be getting a fever or something' Neji thought to himself.

Tenten paused and looked at him suspicious and shocked. After a second or two she convinced herself she must have heard it wrong. She then answered him "I don't care much for this dress. If my parents are forcing me to marry a stranger I will show him my true colours from the beginning. If I have enough luck he will run crying when he sees me or after he sees my swords man ship." At the thought Tenten smiled manically. Neji was starting to like her attitude more and more. Maybe this wedding would be entertaining.

"What happens if he doesn't run at the site of your swords?"

Tenten stopped cleaning his shirt to actually think about it. What happened if he really didn't run away…she would be stuck with him forever.

"…kill him as he sleeps" Tenten said with a smile that made Neji's skin crawl.

"There all finished you should walk around to dry it off…I forgot to ask what are you doing here anyways?" Tenten looked at him with her brown eyes full of question.

"To attend your wedding your highness of course" Neji said with a small bow and smile.

"I hope you keep me entertained or I might just have to take your gifts and set sail again" Neji said with a smile

Giving a smile back Tenten accepted his offer. "Fine but if I keep you entertained you must let me go with you on your ship."

"You're on your majesty. I'll see you at the wedding"

"That you will Captain"

With that Tenten and Neji went their own ways. Tenten had to hurry to the castle before her mom thought she ran away. Tenten wasn't scared anymore. She was out to make this the most entertaining wedding of the century. Once Tenten got back all the maids and her mother were at her like flies to a candle. The wedding was moments away they tried to fix her up as much as possible as they ran to the ceremony. Tenten didn't care for how she looked the worse she looked the better. It was more likely to scare her future husband. Her mother was less than thrilled; she started crying when she looked at Tenten. Sakura was displeased but still shook her head. This was the Tenten she knew. Tenten reached the doors smiling. Like a fight she was now fully prepared for what lay on the other side and she would take it on full force. The doors opened and Tenten was blinded for a couple seconds. After a deep breath she walked in with her head held high. She never back away from a battle. She didn't realize how far she had to walk. There were thousands of people here. She didn't know ¾ of them. However the ¼ that she did know were either laughing at her or crying. She started reaching the front and realized there was no one at the altar. Her heart skipped a beat maybe she wouldn't have to marry anyone. Then suddenly her heart dropped like a rock from a tree. There was someone up there but their back was to her. He looked like he had long black hair.

She reached the end. Beside her, stood her future husband. She tried to keep her head up high but could only stay frozen staring at the floor. She couldn't even bear to look at the man she was to marry. Suddenly he leaned over it took Tenten all she could not to lean away from the stranger.

"You're going to lose the bet"

With that Tenten smiled as she reached for the hidden sword under her dress. This was going to be entertaining.

The End


End file.
